There have been some landmark developments in Dubai in terms of law and regulation in various sectors including civil, commercial, companies, intellectual property, immigration, maritime, industrial, banking and employment law. Dubai has its own judicial system, independent of the other emirates.

There are three primary sources of UAE law, namely federal laws and decrees (applicable in all emirates), local laws (laws and regulations enacted by the individual emirates), and Sharia’h (Islamic law).

Stages of LitigationDubai’s judicial system is known to implement justice in Dubai through precision and promptness in judicial procedures. Dubai’s courts comprise a Court of First Instance, a Court of Appeal and a Court of Cassation. Each of these courts have separate circuits namely:

Civil Court

Commercial Court

Criminal Court

Labour Court

Real Estate Court

Personal Status Courts

It is to be noted that the Personal Status Courts follows Sharia'h principles for marriages and divorces, succession, personal status etc. Dubai Courts has also ruled that witnesses are not a pre-requisite at the Personal Status Courts to obtain 12 types of personal status certificates. These include request for income certificate, marriage and divorce power of attorney, guardian appointment certificate, no-objection certificate for minors to start business, embracing Islam certificate, name changing certificate, family reconciliation certificate, dowry collection or concession, child nursing validation or concession & giving children their mother's nationality. Non-Muslims are required to respect Sharia law in Dubai and conduct themselves accordingly.

The DIFC Courts are an independent common law judiciary based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) with jurisdiction over civil and commercial disputes in or relating to the DIFC.For disputes involving companies based in DIFC, litigants on modest incomes can apply to get pro-bono (free legal advice) from a fund set up by the DIFC Courts. You will need to download the initial form from the DIFC Court's website.

In a bid to reduce the amount of litigation, Dubai Courts launched the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes, mainly for SMEs and investors for claims of upto AED 20,000. The Centre aims for a fast and affordable resolution of disputes within one month with a mediator specializing in conflict resolution as well as qualified arbitrators. If a reconciliation is reached, it will be validated by all parties and approved by a judge, so that it becomes legally binding. In case there is no settlement, the dispute is referred to court. The Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes has been relocated from Dubai Courts to Entrepreneur Business Village, near the Clock Tower in Deira.

As part of its transparency and to create awareness of Dubai’s legal system, Dubai Courts has a monthly free guided tour for any citizen, resident or visitor to Dubai. Called 'Twitter Visit', the tours take place on the final Wednesday of every month. The tour lasts about two hours and is in Arabic though translations in English or other languages can be made available. The tour includes a visit through the courts, videos, meeting with the Director General of Dubai Courts and with an actual judge. To register for a tour, email pr@dc.gov.ae, follow & tweet on @DubaiCourts, visit the court in person to register, or call Dubai Courts on 04-3030680 during office hours.